I Want A Relationship
by LiaBelle
Summary: What is going on with Stella and Flack during Still Searching?  You don't HAVE to read Still Searching my ongoing DannyLindsay fic to understand, but it is recommended.
1. The Beginning

"Well, I guess it's just you and me," Flack remarked to Stella after having his dance partner taken away.

"Guess so," Stella laughed, and took Flack's offered hand. Stella was surprised at the shiver that went through her body as she was pulled into Flack's arms. _This is Flack!_ She mentally scolded herself, _what is wrong with you?_

Flack smiled to himself as he pulled Stella closer. It felt so good to finally have her in his arms. He'd had feelings for Stella for what seemed like forever, but never had the courage to do anything about it. He reminded himself to thank Danny later for forcing him and Stella together like he had. Don didn't know if he would have had the guts to ask Stella to dance on his own.

"You're a good dancer," Stella said suddenly, causing both of them to blush slightly.

"My ma taught me," Flack explained, even though she hadn't asked.

"Oh."

"I've never seen Danny this happy in a long time," Flack remarked.

"I know," Stella said, "probably not since before Aiden died."

"Yeah," Flack agreed, "I almost told him that, but didn't want to ruin the day."

"Good thinking, Flack," Stella said with a slight air of sarcasm.

"Are you being snippy with me, Stella?" Flack pulled Stella closer.

"What if I am?" Stella asked, her lips being magnetically drawn closer to Flack's. "Then what?"

"Well, I'll just have to get you back in line."

"And how would you do that?"

Flack didn't answer, instead his lips crashed down onto Stella's. Stella closed her eyes and reveled at the feeling of Flack all around her. It seemed to be a scene taken straight from a cheesy, cliché romantic comedy that Stella, Lindsay and Peyton watched together on their Girl's Nights. Yes, she saw fireworks and heard the Hallelujah chorus and all that jazz. She was able to look past the mere corniness of the situation, however, because as it turns out, Donald Flack Jr. was an exceptional kisser.

Flack reluctantly tore his lips away from Stella's, cutting their kiss very short. "What's wrong?" Stella asked, breathless even though the kiss only lasted about thirty seconds.

"This is Lindsay and Danny's day," Flack said, slightly ruefully, "I don't want to take the focus away from them. Besides, I'd never hear the end of it from Danny and Hawkes if they saw us kissing."

"I see your point," Stella said pouting slightly. "We could always just leave," she said, a flirtatious smirk on her face and a glint in her emerald eyes.

Flack groaned slightly. "Don't even tempt me," he begged, "If Danny weren't my best friend, I'd be in the car and gone in thirty seconds."

"I can arrange that," Stella said, batting her eyelashes. She paused a moment before saying, "After the reception is over."

"I think I'd be ok with that," Flack said as the song ended and he and Stella walked slowly off of the dance floor.

"Think?"

"I _know_ I'd be ok with that," he corrected himself, putting emphasis on the word 'know.'

After the reception, Stella slipped discreetly into Flack's car without anybody noticing. "So, where are we going?" she asked wickedly.

"You'll see," Flack replied, backing the car out of the parking space.

They sat in silence for the entire car ride. It wasn't awkward, however, they both just felt that there was no need for words at this point. Flack down streets and alleyways that Stella had never seen before and eventually ended up in front of an old-fashioned pizza parlor called Rosario's. Stella looked questioningly at Flack, but still didn't say anything as he opened the door for her and led her into the restaurant

A bell tinkled softly when Flack pushed open the door. Immediately, a short, squat man with wild black hair and quite the moustache came running from a back room to greet his customers. His eyes lit up when he saw the tall, dark detective. "Donny, my boy!" he exclaimed, "It is good to see you! And who is this lovely lady you bring with you, huh?"

Stella and Flack both blushed. "This is Stella, Bernardo," Flack said, still very embarrassed, "Stel, this is Bernardo, owner of Rosario's and a old friend of the family."

Stella held out her hand for Bernardo to shake, but instead he kissed it, startling Stella slightly.

Flack cleared his throat rather loudly. "A table, Bernardo?"

"Right, right," the little Italian man scuttled around the empty room to find table settings. "We was just about to close," he said, huffing and puffing slightly from all the excitement, "But you, Donny boy, are almost family. I could not turn you away."

Flack smiled politely, and wished that Bernardo would stop calling him Donny boy.

Bernardo was finally ready, after having searched high and low for matches to light the candles he'd placed on the table. "Please take a seat," he said formally. Stella choked back a giggle, and Flack had to fight not to laugh at Bernardo's sudden change in demeanor. "Here is a menu," Bernardo continued in the same formal tone, handing them each a menu. "I go get you some wine, yes?"

Flack nodded, "Thanks Bernardo."

Bernardo scurried back with the wine and poured it for them. They ordered a pizza with everything on it, and fast as lighting, Bernardo was back with a fresh, steaming hot pizza pie. He then disappeared and left the couple to eat in peace.

"He's quite the character," Stella laughed, taking a bite of her pizza.

"Yeah, he is," Flack agreed, "But he's a great chef," he gestured to the pizza in front of them.

"I'd say," Stella remarked, "that this is probably one of the best pizzas I've ever had."

Don nodded, chewing a bit of the delicious pizza.

The two talked for hours until it got to be late and Bernardo ushered them out. Flack drove Stella back to home. He walked her up to her apartment. They stood there outside the door for several minutes, neither one wanting to say anything, in fear that it'd be the wrong thing to say. "Do you want to come in?" Stella asked finally.

Don battled internally for control of his emotions, before finally managing to say, "No."

"Oh. Ok." Stella looked a little hurt, and fumbled through her purse for the key. She slid it into the lock and pushed the door open when Flack caught her arm, stopping her from going inside.

"Wait." He said.

Stella stepped back out side and closed the door. "What?"

"I want to have a relationship with you, Stella," he blurted out before he lost the nerve. "I care for you, a lot, and if we're going to do this I want to do it right.

Stella couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. "I want a relationship too, Don."

Flack smiled. Stella rarely called him Don, and he loved it when she did. He kissed her sweetly on the lips. "Goodnight, Stella," he said, walking away to prevent losing control.

"Goodnight, Don," Stella said almost dreamily, a soft smile on her face as she watched him retreat down the stairs.

**A/N So…. what do you think of the beginning? I've never done a Stella/Flack fic before, so I might need a bit of help. Or, if you think it's totally lame, I'll just delete it…. I need feedback, people!**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


	2. Surprises

"Good morning, Stella," Flack said, smiling at her in a way that made Stella want to drag him into the nearest supply closet and kiss him senseless.

"Good morning, Flack," Stella returned with a smirk.

"Flack! Stella!" Mac barked coming down the hall and ruining their little moment. "We're going to be understaffed until Lindsay and Danny get back, so there's no time for small talk!" he told them when he was right in front of them.

"Ok," Stella said, suppressing a smile.

"Sure thing, boss," Flack said, also fighting not to laugh.

"Good," Mac continued down the hall without another word.

Flack and Stella burst out laughing when they heard him give the same speech to Hawkes, who was chatting with a pretty new lab tech.

"Think he's a little stressed?" Stella asked between giggles.

"Just a bit," Flack agreed.

The two reluctantly parted, as they both had work to do, but not before making plans for another date.

"Do you want to do something after work?" Flack asked, still a bit embarrassed to be asking her this.

Stella beamed. "I'd love to. But can we not go back to Rosario's for a little while? I think I've had enough Bernardo that I can handle for a few weeks."

Flack laughed. "I promise, no Bernardo this time."

"Than what are we going to do?" Stella asked innocently.

"Oh, you'll see," Flack said mysteriously, flashing her a wicked grin.

Stella pouted. "Tell me…. Please?"

"No," Flack replied lightly.

"I hate surprises," Stella grumbled.

"Well, that's too bad, sweetheart," Flack said and walked away.

Flack just called me 'sweetheart', Stella though, not able to suppress the slow smile that crossed her face at the idea. 

_I just called Stella 'sweetheart', _Flack told himself as he walked down the hallway. He was very concerned that it had been a bad move, but one glance back at Stella relieved him of this worry. She had a smile that rivaled the Cheshire Cat's dancing across her face and she seemed to be rooted to the spot. Don couldn't help smiling himself. He wanted more that anything to run back to Stella, take her in his arms and kiss the living daylights out of her. Obviously, this was no the time nor the place, however, so he managed to refrain from doing so. Instead, he kept his mind on getting his job done. The way he saw it, the sooner he started his work, the sooner he could be finished and have a nice evening alone with Stella.

* * *

_To: SBonasera  
From: DFlack  
Subject: Tonight_

_Stel –_

_I'm really sorry, but I'm going to have to cancel on you tonight. Apparently I'm really behind on paperwork, and I need to get it done ASAP. Sorry, again._

_Don_

Stella's heart sank as she read Don's email. She had been really looking forward to whatever surprise he had planned for her, even if she refused to admit it. She truly did hate surprises, but coming from Don it was different. She wished that Lindsay wasn't on her honeymoon. If she were in New York, working, Stella would be able to ask Lindsay's advice on the situation. She knew that her friend would give her an honest opinion and wouldn't judge. In fact, Stella was pretty sure that Lindsay would be quite thrilled. Her younger co-worker was always urging Stella to being dating again. Stella sighed. It was no use feeling sorry for herself; this was a lesson she'd learned early on in life. She shoved away all thoughts concerning Don or Lindsay and finished her work.

"Heading home, Stel?" Mac asked.

"Yeah," Stella said, "Is there anything you want me to do? I can stay if you want me to."

"No, it's ok. Go home and get some rest." Mac smiled.

"Thanks, Mac." Stella called over her shoulder, and headed home.

Stella wasn't in the mood to share a confined space with a lot of strangers, so she opted to take a cab instead of the subway. She relaxed into the slightly comfortable back seat and closed her eyes. It had not been the best day. A fifteen-year-old girl had been murdered with a shish kabob skewer and Stella had to process the scene. To make matters worse, the killer turned out to be her own father, who was a chef at a popular restaurant. How she hated the scenes that involved young, innocent people. It really hit her hard to think that Molly Khalis, the victim of this brutal crime, would never grow up. She'd never graduate high school, or go to college or get married.

"Hey, Lady!" The impatient and slightly rude cab driver tore Stella away from her musing. Her eyes snapped open and she saw that she was sitting out side of her apartment building.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Stella exclaimed, handing him a wad of cash and climbing out of the cab.

She trudged into the building and was greeted by her friendly doorman. "Good evening, Ms. Bonasera!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, Stan," Stella said half heartedly, and crossed the lobby. She ignored the dinging of the elevator that told her that it was ready and waiting for her and began to climb the stairs. At this point she'd do anything to avoid other people.

By the time she reached her floor, she deeply regretted her choice of stairs over the elevator. She'd never realized how steep those nine staircases were! Stella fished around in her purse for he keys and slid it into the lock. She paused a moment, her hand on the doorknob. She swore that she heard music inside the apartment. Shaking her head, she passed it off as her imagination, turned the knob and pushed the door open. She was greeted with the sight of a smiling Don Flack, the smell of something Italian and – it hadn't been her imagination – soft music playing in the background. "What? How?" Stella was so shocked that she couldn't even form a complete sentence.

Flack just laughed and pulled her into his arms for a hug. "Why did you have to go and get me all disappointed for?" Stella asked, a stubborn look of annoyance on her face.

"I wanted to surprise you," Flack answered, still smiling.

"Well, you certainly did surprise me," Stella said, kissing him softly on the lips. She pulled away suddenly. "How did you get in?"

"Well, it just so happens that your doorman is my sister's fiancé's brother's best friend from childhood."

"Seriously?" Stella asked.

"Nope." Flack said, earning a swat on the arm from Stella.

"You're infuriating," Stella told him.

"Oh, but you love it," Flack teased.

"Seriously, how did you get in?" Stella asked, not taking Don's bait.

"Well, I told Stan that I was your boyfriend and that I wanted to get something that I left in your apartment, but I forgot to get the key from you and I didn't want to bother you at work."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." Flack confirmed.

"I think I'm going to have to have a little chat with Stan," Stella joked, "If they knew the right story, just about anybody could get a spare key from my doorman."

"Never thought of that," Flack said, suddenly feeling very protective of Stella. "Come on, let's eat," he said, changing the subject to make them both feel better.

"Thanks, Don," Stella said quietly. "For everything."

**A/N Doesn't writer's block just suck? All of my ideas just flew away or suddenly started sounding really stupid. Anyway, I'm sorry for the wait, and I'm sorry if it's lame-ish.**

**xoxo**

**Lia**


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